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FEMS Microbiology Ecology 42 (2002) 451^462
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Strong, weak, and missing links in a microbial community of
the N.W. Mediterranean Sea
Y. Bettarel a , J.R. Dolan b; , K. Hornak c , R. Leme¤e b , M. Masin c , M.-L. Pedrotti b ,
E. Rochelle-Newall b , K. Simek c , T. Sime-Ngando a
b
a
Laboratoire de Biologie des Protistes, CNRS UMR 6023, Universite¤ Blaise Pascal, 63177 Aubie're Cedex, France
Marine Microbial Ecology Group, Laboratoire de Oce¤anographie de Villefranche, CNRS UMR 7093, B.P. 28, 6023 Villefranche-sur-Mer, France
c
Hydrobiological Institute, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Na sadkach 7, 37005 Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
Received 18 April 2002 ; received in revised form 26 July 2002; accepted 23 August 2002
First published online 24 October 2002
Abstract
Planktonic microbial communities often appear stable over periods of days and thus tight links are assumed to exist between different
functional groups (i.e. producers and consumers). We examined these links by characterizing short-term temporal correspondences in the
concentrations and activities of microbial groups sampled from 1 m depth, at a coastal site of the N.W. Mediterranean Sea, in September
2001 every 3 h for 3 days. We estimated the abundance and activity rates of the autotrophic prokaryote Synechococcus, heterotrophic
bacteria, viruses, heterotrophic nanoflagellates, as well as dissolved organic carbon concentrations. We found that Synechococcus,
heterotrophic bacteria, and viruses displayed distinct patterns. Synechococcus abundance was greatest at midnight and lowest at 21:00 and
showed the common pattern of an early evening maximum in dividing cells. In contrast, viral concentrations were minimal at midnight
and maximal at 18:00. Viral infection of heterotrophic bacteria was rare (0.5^2.5%) and appeared to peak at 03:00. Heterotrophic
bacteria, as % eubacteria-positive cells, peaked at midday, appearing loosely related to relative changes in dissolved organic carbon
concentration. Bacterial production as assessed by leucine incorporation showed no consistent temporal pattern but could be related to
shifts in the grazing rates of heterotrophic nanoflagellates and viral infection rates. Estimates of virus-induced mortality of heterotrophic
bacteria, based on infection frequencies, were only about 10% of cell production. Overall, the dynamics of viruses appeared more closely
related to Synechococcus than to heterotrophic bacteria. Thus, we found weak links between dissolved organic carbon concentration, or
grazing, and bacterial activity, a possibly strong link between Synechococcus and viruses, and a missing link between light and viruses.
@ 2002 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
Planktonic microbial communities, despite high physiological rates, appear stable on a time scale of days, showing little change in either concentrations or composition.
For example, in the open ocean, populations of the photosynthetic prokaryotes Synechococcus and Prochlorococcus
divide about once every 24 h but concentrations change
little from day to day [1,2]. Similarly, the community composition of heterotrophic bacteria, as determined using
oligonucleotide probes, has been shown to be nearly invariant over a period of days [3]. Thus, production and
* Corresponding author. Tel. : +33 4 93 76 38 34;
Fax : +33 4 93 76 38 22.
E-mail address : [email protected] (J.R. Dolan).
mortality generally appear balanced, despite the fact that
these terms probably vary over a 24 h period with a factor
as obvious as light. For example, light is likely to in£uence
the cell production of heterotrophic bacteria by governing
cycles of resources such as the photosynthetic production
of dissolved organic carbon (DOC). Conversely, light
could be expected to in£uence bacterial mortality directly
through DNA damage [4,5], or indirectly as it is the
dominant mechanism of viral destruction or inactivation
[6^10]. With regard to bacterial grazers, laboratory studies
examining the e¡ects of UV A and UV B radiation on
heterotrophic nano£agellates (HFLAG) have led to the
suggestion that grazing in marine surface waters may be
inhibited during the day [11,12] while other studies have
concluded that light may facilitate digestion, allowing
higher grazing of chlorophyll-containing prey such as Synechococcus or Prochlorococcus [13].
Data on the short-term variability of population con-
0168-6496 / 02 / $22.00 @ 2002 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
PII : S 0 1 6 8 - 6 4 9 6 ( 0 2 ) 0 0 3 8 3 - 5
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Y. Bettarel et al. / FEMS Microbiology Ecology 42 (2002) 451^462
centrations and physiological rates exist, but at least with
regard to bulk rates of bacterial production and loss from
grazers no consistent patterns emerge. For example,
among studies conducted over the past decade, bacterial
production reportedly peaks in the early evening [14], or
late night, or early morning [15^17], or during midday
[18^20], or varies little [21,22] or irregularly [23^26]. As
to the variability of £uorescence in situ hybridization
(FISH) detection rates (eubacteria and/or archaebacteria),
very little data are available. However, it has been suggested that a great deal of seasonal variability may exist
which re£ects seasonal changes in cell-speci¢c activity
rates [27].
Diel changes in grazing rates on heterotrophic bacteria
have been reported and rates found to be signi¢cantly
higher at night or during the day [28^30]. Parameters directly in£uenced by light, such as indicators of DNA damage or repair patterns appear more coherent [4,5]. Interestingly, the small number of studies concerning viral
abundance suggests that although sunlight is thought to
be a major loss mechanism for viruses [7^9,19], in natural
systems viral concentrations vary little or irregularly
[31^34].
Few or no common patterns may exist because of di¡erences between systems in characteristics as water transparency and the relative importance of allochthonous versus
autochthonous carbon. However, even in a given type of
system, most studies have examined very few parameters
(typically heterotrophic bacterial production and loss to
grazers) and have either been limited to a single day/night
cycle or based on two to four samplings per 24 h. Thus, in
reality, the paradigm of microbial communities as a set of
tightly linked populations may be based as much on intuition as evidence.
To examine the nature of the links within planktonic
microbial communities, we considered the community of
an oligotrophic marine system in which at least one component is characterized by rapid and cyclical growth ^ the
autotrophic prokaryote Synechococcus. In the Bay of
Villefranche it displays the well-known cycle of early evening cell division but near-constant cell concentration
[35,36].
We examined short-term temporal correspondences of
abundance and activities of distinct microbial groups in
the Bay of Villefranche in September 2001 by sampling
every 3 h for 3 days at 1 m depth. We estimated abundance and activity rates of Synechococcus, heterotrophic
bacteria, viruses and HFLAG. For Synechococcus, the frequency of dividing cells was estimated. The metabolic activity of heterotrophic bacteria was quanti¢ed in two
ways: by the rate of leucine incorporation and by the
proportion of cells detectable with FISH using eubacterial
or archaebacterial oligonucleotide probes. Leucine incorporation has been used as a common method of estimating cell production rates [37]. FISH detection is thought to
be limited largely by cellular ribosomal RNA content, in
FEMSEC 1433 12-11-02
turn usually linked to cellular activity [38]. Viral activity
was assessed as the frequency of visibly infected heterotrophic bacteria. Grazing activity of HFLAG on heterotrophic bacteria was estimated as clearance rates measured
by the uptake of £uorescently labeled bacteria. We also
monitored DOC concentrations, a possible motor driving
changes in activities of heterotrophic bacteria.
We hypothesized that, against a background of Synechococcus cycles, we would ¢nd cycles of production and
mortality in heterotrophic bacteria. We expected grazing
rates of HFLAG on heterotrophic bacteria to show a diurnal cycle as dividing Synechococcus cells became too
large to ingest [36]. We expected viral concentrations
and infection rates to show a diurnal cycle due to sunlight-induced viral destruction.
We anticipated a tight link between bacterial production
and mortality. In the Bay of Villefranche, from summer
through autumn, production of heterotrophic bacteria appears to be phosphorus-limited [39]. Short-term variability
in bacterial cell production has been linked to nM changes
in phosphate concentrations [19]. As grazers of picoplankton are e⁄cient recyclers of phosphorus [40], and exploitation should release organic phosphorus, we expected
variability in production or nutritional status of heterotrophic bacteria to follow shifts in total bacterial mortality
from grazing or viral lysis.
To our knowledge, no previous study has examined
temporal variability of all the components of the microbial
loop (autotrophic and heterotrophic bacteria, viruses,
HFLAG and DOC) nor employed a sampling regime as
comprehensive as at 3 h intervals over 3 days in a natural
system.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Study site and sampling
The study site was located in Villefranche Bay, Northwestern Mediterranean Sea (43‡41PN, 7‡19PE). From a
point 50 m o¡ the pier of the Station Zoologique, seawater
was collected from a depth of 1 m (site depth = 4 m) by
¢lling a 10 l carboy. Water samples were taken every 3 h
from 12:00 a.m. September 12, 2001 to 12:00 a.m. September 15, yielding a total of 25 samples. Water temperature varied between 24 and 22‡C, and the photoperiod
was approximately 12 h.
2.2. Bacterial abundance and production
Subsamples were ¢xed with formaldehyde (2% ¢nal concentration); 10 ml aliquots were stained with 4,6-diamino2-phenylindole (DAPI; ¢nal concentration 0.2% wt/v),
drawn down on 0.2 Wm ¢lters and examined by epi£uorescence microscopy (Olympus BX-60). Between 400 and
600 bacteria were counted ; thus the 95% con¢dence limit
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Y. Bettarel et al. / FEMS Microbiology Ecology 42 (2002) 451^462
for a given estimate is about V 5%. Heterotrophic bacterial production was estimated from the rate of protein
synthesis as determined by the incorporation of 3 H-leucine
into trichloroacetic acid (TCA)-insoluble macromolecular
material [37]. For each sampling time, three 10 ml replicates were spiked with 22 nM of leucine and three others
were spiked with 42 nM. Each replicate received 2 nM of
3
H-leucine (speci¢c activity : 51 Ci mmol31 ) and 20 or 40
nM of unlabeled leucine. For each concentration, one of
the replicates to which formalin had been added (2% ¢nal
concentration) served as a control. Samples were incubated in the dark at in situ temperatures for 2 h. We
con¢rmed that leucine incorporation was linear during
this period. The live incubations were terminated with formalin and all samples were ¢ltered onto 0.2 Wm, 25 mm
diameter nitrocellulose ¢lters. Samples were then extracted
with 5% TCA for 10 min followed by ¢ve 3 ml rinses with
5% TCA. The ¢lters were placed in scintillation vials and
20 ml of Filter Count1 scintillation cocktail (Packard)
was added. Radioactivity was counted with a scintillation
counter with counting e⁄ciency corrected for quenching.
Results were expressed as pM leucine incorporated l31 h31 .
Leucine incorporation rates were translated into incorporation per cell using total heterotrophic bacteria cell concentrations and into bacterial cells produced per hour using the conversion factors of 1 pM leucine = 1.5 ng carbon
and 20 fg carbon per bacterial cell. Statistical relationships
of leucine incorporation were examined using both bulk
and per-cell uptake rates. Relationships were very similar
and here only the rates per cell are reported.
2.3. Fluorescent in situ hybridization
We employed FISH as a metric of nutritional status as
FISH detection rates depend on RNA quantity, which
re£ects nutritional state and history [41,42]. The proportion of cells with a quantity of rRNA su⁄cient to allow
detection with FISH probes as either eubacteria or archaebacteria was determined for 15 of the 25 samples. We
employed the standard protocol of in situ hybridization
with £uorescent oligonucleotide probes on membrane
¢lters [43,44]. For details of the hybridization procedure
and error estimates see [45]. Brie£y, bacterial cells from
10^20 ml subsamples were concentrated on white 0.2 Wm
¢lters (47 mm diameter; Poretics), then ¢xed on membrane ¢lters by overlaying with 4% paraformaldehyde in
phosphate-bu¡ered saline (PBS; pH 7.2) and stored at
320‡C [43]. Two oligonucleotide probes (MWG Biotech,
Germany) were used: EUB338 for Bacteria [47], and
ARCH915 for Archaea [48]. The probes were £uorescently
labeled with the indocarbocyanine dye Cy3 (BDS, Pittsburgh, PA, USA). After hybridization, ¢lter sections were
stained with DAPI and the percentage of hybridized bacterial cells counted by epi£uorescence microscopy. A minimum of 400 cells were examined, thus a counting error of
about V 5% could be expected.
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453
2.4. Synechococcus abundance and frequency of
dividing cells
Subsamples of formaldehyde-¢xed water (10 ml) were
¢ltered onto 0.2 Wm black polycarbonate ¢lters to estimate
the concentration and the frequency of dividing cells
(FDC) of Synechococcus. Slides were examined using a
Zeiss Axiophot epi£uorescence microscope equipped with
blue and green ¢lter sets. Using the green ¢lter set, orangered Synechococcus cells were counted under 1000U magni¢cation using the auto£uorescence of phycobiliproteins
for cell detection. A minimum of 400 single, non-dividing
Synechococcus cells were counted and cells with a welldeveloped septum were recorded separately. Counting error could be expected to be about V 5%
2.5. Heterotrophic nano£agellate abundance and
grazing rate
Grazing on bacterioplankton was estimated using £uorescently labeled bacterioplankton (FLB, [49]), concentrated from Rimrov reservoir water according to [50]. Bacterioplankton were starved for 3 weeks prior to staining to
reduce cell volumes to 0.05^0.09 Wm3 . FLB uptake experiments were run for each sampling. 100 ml samples were
dispensed into 250 ml £asks and FLB added to yield a
¢nal concentration of 2U105 ml31 (about 20% of bacterial
natural abundance) and incubated at in situ temperature
for 30 min. 25 ml subsamples for protozoan enumeration
and tracer ingestion determinations were taken and ¢xed
by adding 0.5% of alkaline Lugol’s solution, immediately
followed by 2% borate-bu¡ered formalin (¢nal concentrations) and several drops of 3% sodium thiosulfate to clear
the Lugol’s color [49]. 20 ml subsamples were stained with
DAPI, ¢ltered through 1 Wm black ¢lters (Poretics), and
inspected by epi£uorescence microscopy. Non-pigmented,
HFLAG and plastidic £agellates were di¡erentiated. 50^
100 HFLAG were inspected for FLB ingestion in each
sample. An average clearance rate was calculated for
each sample by dividing the average number of FLB ingested by the concentration of FLB. Given a Poisson distribution of FLB inside the population, we estimate the
95% con¢dence limit of individual heterotrophic nano£agellate ingestion rate estimates to be V 20%. To estimate
total grazing, we multiplied the uptake rate of HFLAG by
their in situ abundance.
2.6. Dissolved organic carbon measurements
For the DOC measurements, 10 ml aliquots of ¢ltered
(GF/F, Whatman) sample were collected in pre-combusted
glass ampoules. The sample was then acidi¢ed with 85%
H3 PO4 to a pH 6 1 and the ampoule £ame-sealed. The
samples were stored at 4‡C in the dark until analysis.
DOC concentrations were measured with a Shimadzu
TOC-5000 total organic carbon analyzer (see [26], for ex-
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Y. Bettarel et al. / FEMS Microbiology Ecology 42 (2002) 451^462
ample) and certi¢ed reference materials (D.A. Hansell,
University of Miami) were used to calculate the machine
blank and to assess the performance of the machine on the
measurement days.
FVIC to FIC presented by Weinbauer et al. [56]:
FIC ¼ ð9:524UFVICÞ33:256
Then the relationship relating FIC to VIM formulated
by Binder [57] :
2.7. Viral concentrations
VIM ¼ ðFIC þ 0:6 FIC2Þ=ð131:2 FICÞ
Virus-like particles were counted by epi£uorescence
microscopy using the £uorochrome Yo-Pro [51] and a
modi¢cation of the Hennes and Suttle method [52] that
produces reliable counts of free viruses in aquatic ecosystems [53]. The ¢lters were transferred to glass slides,
covered with single drops of a solution of 50% glycerol,
50% PBS (0.05 M Na2 HPO4 , 0.85% NaCl, pH 7.5),
and 0.1% p-phenylenediamine (made fresh daily from a
frozen 10% aqueous stock solution; Sigma) on 25 mm
square coverslips. This mountant minimizes fading [7].
All working solutions (i.e. stain, double-distilled water,
mountant, ¢xatives) were ¢lter-sterilized immediately before use, using Anotop 10 units (Whatman) equipped
with 0.02 Wm inorganic membranes and sterile syringes.
In addition, a blank was routinely examined to control for contamination of the equipment and reagents.
The virus-like particles were counted using an Olympus
HB2 microscope equipped with a 100/1.25 Neo£uar objective lens and a wide blue ¢lter set. The size, the distinctive shape and very much brighter £uorescence of bacteria clearly distinguished these particles from viruses.
Triplicate counts of subsamples yielded standard deviations of 6 5%.
The relationship is based in part upon the determination
of the fraction of the latent period that elapses before the
appearance of intracellular virus particles [58]. The VIM
¢gure was translated into an hourly cell loss rate by multiplying VIM by hourly cell production based on leucine
incorporation.
2.8. Estimating frequencies of virus-infected bacteria and
subsequent mortality
Data were standardized, relative to 24 h averages, in the
following manner. For each variable, a 24 h average was
calculated for each of the three sampled 24 h periods (e.g.
12:00 Sept. 12 to 12:00 Sept. 13). Each data point was
then expressed as a percentage of the corresponding 24 h
average value. The variables, as percentages, were normalized using square root arcsine transformation. The standardized, normalized variables were examined using a oneway analysis of variance (ANOVA) to test for e¡ects of
time of day as a ’treatment’ and correlation analysis to
examine correspondence between variables. We also employed non-parametric Spearman rank correlation analysis
to test for simple correspondence between variables using
untransformed data.
3. Results
In formalin-¢xed samples, the bacteria contained within
8 ml subsamples were harvested by ultracentrifugation
onto grids (400 mesh NI electron microscope grids with
carbon-coated Formvar ¢lm) using a Centrikon TST 41.14
swing-out rotor at 70 000Ug for 20 min at 4‡C [54,55].
Each grid was then stained for 30 s with uranyl acetate
(2% wt/wt) and examined in a JEOL 1200EX transmission electron microscope (TEM) operated at 80 kV at a
magni¢cation of U40 000. Because of the high acceleration voltage, we were able to identify bacterial cells containing mature phages. A cell was considered infected
when the phages inside could be clearly recognized by
their shape and size. At least 300 bacterial cells were inspected per sample to determine an infection rate or frequency of visibly infected cells. Due to equipment problems, only samples from the ¢rst 15 time points were
processed.
To estimate the impact of viruses on bacterial mortality,
the frequency of visibly infected cells (FVIC, as a percentage) was related to the frequency of infected cells (FIC)
and virus-induced bacterial mortality (VIM, as a percentage per generation), ¢rst using the relationship relating
FEMSEC 1433 12-11-02
2.9. Data analysis
3.1. Temporal patterns
Temporal changes in concentrations are shown in Fig.
1. Over the 3 day period, bulk concentrations of all the
organisms considered varied by about V 50%. In contrast,
DOC concentrations varied within a relatively narrow
range of 92^115 WM. It should be noted that ’dissolved’
carbon included any organic matter that passed through
the (GF/F) ¢lters. Regular oscillations were apparent only
with regard to the concentrations of Synechococcus and
viruses; Synechococcus was maximal from 0:00 to 3:00
and viruses from 15:00 to 18:00. Thus, the cycle of Synechococcus was as expected. However, if light is a signi¢cant loss factor for viruses, viral abundance varied in an
unexpected manner of lower concentrations at night.
Most rates (Fig. 2) varied more than concentrations.
Leucine incorporation rates varied between about 50 and
250 fM leucine cell31 h31 U1036 . The portion of DAPIcounted cells detectable with the eubacteria probe varied
between 45 and 65%; archaebacteria were found at the
limit of detection ( 6 2%? DAPI cells). Interestingly, the
shifts in proportions of bacterial cells detectable with the
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Y. Bettarel et al. / FEMS Microbiology Ecology 42 (2002) 451^462
455
Fig. 1. Temporal changes in concentrations of organisms (HFLAG = heterotrophic nano£agellates) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in the Bay of
Villefranche, September 12^15, based on samples from 1 m depth.
eubacteria probe appeared unrelated to the considerable
variations in leucine incorporation rates. Regular oscillations were not evident, but within a given 24 h period a
maximum value was recorded from the midday samples.
Our estimates of the clearance rates of HFLAG, overall,
fell largely between 4 and 6 nl cell31 h31 .
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Rates of viral infection ranged from roughly 0.5 to 2.5%
of the stock of heterotrophic bacteria. Based on data
from two of the three cycles, peak infection rates occurred
at 03:00. Recalling that virus abundance peaked at
about 18:00 (Fig. 1), the time between virus contact and
the occurrence of TEM-detectable infection would then
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Y. Bettarel et al. / FEMS Microbiology Ecology 42 (2002) 451^462
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Y. Bettarel et al. / FEMS Microbiology Ecology 42 (2002) 451^462
appear to be either 9 h or a multiple of (9+24) h. However, the patterns must be interpreted with caution as the
number of infected cells detected was insu⁄cient to reliably distinguish minima and maxima of infection.
For Synechococcus, the expected pattern of cell division
in the early evening was evident from the FDC data.
Rough calculations of Synechococcus cell production
from the FDC data correspond well with the night-time
increases in cell concentrations. The 35% of cells in division out of a total of 30 000 cells ml31 does about yield the
increase of 10P000 cells ml31 detected from 18:00 to 24:00
(shown in Fig. 1).
The results of the ANOVA analysis as a test for an
e¡ect of ’hour of day’ on the relative magnitude of the
parameters are given in Table 1. These, in general, provided statistical con¢rmation of patterns evident from
casual inspection of Figs. 1 and 2. There was a signi¢cant
e¡ect of ‘time of day’ for estimates of: (a) concentrations
of Synechococcus, (b) concentrations of viruses, (c) Synechococcus FDC, (d) viral infection rates, and (e) the proportion of DAPI counts detectable with the eubacteria
probe.
3.2. Relationships between variables
Few strong relationships between microbial parameters
were apparent, whether as temporal correspondences (values transformed into percentage of the 24 h average) or as
absolute changes in magnitude. The Spearman rank correlation of simple correspondences of absolute magnitudes
(Table 2) showed the strongest relationships to be a positive relation between speci¢c leucine incorporation rates
and HFLAG concentrations and a negative relation of
the concentrations of viruses and Synechococcus. Concentrations of bacteria and Synechococcus were positively related while proportions of bacteria detectable with the
eubacteria probe were negatively related to Synechococcus
FDC.
Correspondences of temporal shifts, examined using
correlation analysis of time-averaged parameters, revealed
a larger number of signi¢cant relationships (Table 3). The
proportion of bacteria detected with the eubacteria probe
was again negatively related to Synechococcus FDC but
was also positively related to DOC concentrations. In
contrast, leucine incorporation rates, while not relatable
to DOC, showed a negative relationship with bacterial
concentrations and a positive relationship with HFLAG
clearance rates. Interestingly, viral infection rates were
positively related to leucine incorporation rates and con-
457
centrations of Synechococcus, but not proportions of eubacteria probe-positive cells.
3.3. Production and mortality
For heterotrophic bacteria, production and loss rates
were of the same order of magnitude of 103 cells ml31
h31 , with estimates of bacterial cell production, overall,
greater than estimates of cell loss. Flagellate- rather than
virus-induced mortality dominated bacterial cell loss,
based on our estimates of HFLAG clearance rates and
abundance and mortality from viral lysis (Fig. 3). Mortality from viruses, based on infection frequencies, appeared
to reach peak values between 24:00 and 06:00. Our highest estimate of viral mortality was about 25% of cell production. However, it should be recalled that all of our
estimates involve unveri¢ed conversion factors and/or assumptions.
For Synechococcus, FDC data and oscillations of cell
concentrations yielded production and mortality estimates
of about 33% of the stock per day. Based on our estimates
of HFLAG concentrations and clearance rates, £agellates
likely consume only about 15% of the stock per day. The
remaining mortality may be due to viral lysis because not
only is a source of Synechococcus mortality missing, but so
too is a source of virus production.
Consideration of the magnitude of the oscillations in
viral concentrations and the quantities of virus-infected
heterotrophic bacteria leads to the conclusion that there
is likely to be a source of virus other than heterotrophic
bacteria. The oscillations suggest a viral production rate of
at least 3U106 viruses per day (Fig. 1). The peak FVIC
data translate, using common factors (e.g. [56]), into an
absolute infection rate of about 15%. We estimated a heterotrophic bacterial cell production rate of about 1.2U105
cells per day. To obtain a viral production rate of 3U106
per day from 15% of 1.2U105 bacteria per day would
require burst sizes of over 150 particles cell31 compared
to common ¢gures of 6 50 phages cell31 [56]. There then
appears to be an excess production of viruses of about
2U106 ml31 per day. We can provide an estimate of Synechococcus mortality not due to HFLAG grazing as total
Synechococcus production minus HFLAG grazing, calculated as total community HFLAG clearance. The resulting
estimate is 15 000 Synechococcus ml31 per day. A mortality rate of 15 000 Synechococcus ml31 per day to viral lysis
could produce 2U106 viruses per day given a burst size of
133 viruses per Synechococcus. Furthermore, the negative
correlation between viral and Synechococcus concentra-
6
Fig. 2. Temporal changes in activities of microorganisms in the Bay of Villefranche, September 12^15, based on samples from 1 m depth. For heterotrophic bacteria, the top panel shows 3 H-leucine incorporation rate per cell and the percentage of DAPI-stained bacteria detected by FISH with the eubacteria probe EUB338. Below is shown the frequency of cells found to be visibly infected with viruses by examining whole cells using TEM; the inset
photo shows a Vibrio-like bacterium containing about 20 phage particles. Synechococcus (Syn) growth variability was estimated as the frequency of dividing cells (FDC) and the grazing activity of HFLAG as clearance rates (HFLAG Clr).
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Y. Bettarel et al. / FEMS Microbiology Ecology 42 (2002) 451^462
Table 1
Results of ANOVA analysis used to test for di¡erences with the hour of day
Variable
Hour DF
Residual DF
F-value
P-value
[Bact]
[Syn]
[DOC]
[Virus]
[HFLAG]
Syn FDC
Leu cell31
% Eubact+
FVIC
HFLAG Clr
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
4
7
7
17
17
17
17
17
17
17
10
9
17
0.73
10.06
0.49
4.42
1.12
13.17
1.89
6.13
4.17
0.77
0.650
6 0.001
0.826
0.006
0.397
6 0.0001
0.135
0.009
0.025
0.619
All estimates were percentages of the appropriate integrated 24 h average value, transformed for normalization. Concentrations of bacteria, Synechococcus, dissolved organic carbon, viruses, HFLAG : [Bact], [Syn], [DOC], [Virus], [HFLAG] ; rates of leucine incorporation per bacterial cell: Leu cell31 ;
percent of DAPI bacterial counts as positive with the eubacteria probe: % Eubact+ ; frequency of visibly infected bacterial cells: FVIC; clearance rates
of heterotrophic nano£agellates on bacteria: HFLAG Clr. Parameters in bold showed a signi¢cant variation with the time of day.
tions (Tables 2 and 3) suggests that Synechococcus cells
might act as a sink for viral particles.
4. Discussion
The data gathered over 3 days indicated that many of
the microbial parameters estimated varied signi¢cantly
and regularly with time (Figs. 1 and 2, Table 1). As previously described for the Bay of Villefranche [35,36], we
found cyclical changes in Synechococcus FDC and concentration, but a stable population over a period of days. We
found a distinct rhythm in viral concentrations and infection rates among heterotrophic bacteria but, unexpectedly,
viruses showed peak abundance at midday. Our data also
suggested that for heterotrophic bacteria, although bacterial concentrations and leucine incorporation varied irregularly, the proportion of cells detectable using the eubacteria probe showed a midday peak.
It is tempting to attribute the shifts in the proportions
of probe-positive cells to shifts in DOC concentrations as
a correlation was found (Table 3). The magnitude of DOC
change (20 WM) is more than an order of magnitude greater than rough estimates of carbon ¢xation or respiration
based on changes in cell concentrations, so the mechanism
driving shifts in DOC is likely to be exterior to the planktonic food web examined. Benthic input cannot be excluded as our sampling site was in relatively shallow
waters. However, in a previous study at the same site
[35], water movement through the sampling site was
postulated to occur with a period of about 17 h, corresponding to the inertial frequency at 43‡N and the period
of 17 h roughly agrees with DOC shifts. In addition, the
shifts in FISH detection rates must be interpreted with
caution as the source of variability in these rates is unclear. The FISH probe indicates nutritional status, but it is
distinct from estimates of instantaneous activity such as
leucine incorporation, which measures amino acid incorporation into macromolecules.
In single cells, FISH probe signal intensity is directly
related to cellular rRNA content [59]. The fraction of cells
detectable using the eubacteria probe (archaebacteria were
barely detectable) should then equal the fraction of cells
that each contain a minimum number of ribosomes equal
to about 5 fg of RNA [42]. For a bacterial cell, ribosome
number can re£ect nutritional condition as well as nutritional history. Presently available data, although quite limited, indicate that a considerable variability exists among
bacterial species with regard to ribosome dynamics, in
terms of both production and destruction rates, with
Table 2
Results of Spearman rank non-parametric correlation analysis used to test for simple correspondence among estimated variables
n = 25
[Syn]
[Bact]
0.496*
[Syn]
Syn FDC
[DOC]
[Virus]
[HFLAG]
Leu cell31
% Eubact+
FVIC
n = 25
Syn FDC
n = 25
[DOC]
n = 25
[Virus]
n = 25
[HFLAG]
n = 25
Leu cell31
n = 15
% Eubact+
n = 17
FVIC
30.161
30.278
30.139
0.040
30.386
30.085
30.526**
30.089
0.054
0.434*
0.506*
0.064
30.201
30.355
30.420*
30.248
0.071
0.155
0.077
0.554**
0.359
0.225
30.643*
0.462
30.017
0.102
30.264
30.211
0.279
0.069
30.089
30.071
0.071
0.314
0.082
See Table 1 for an explanation of abbreviations. Asterisks denote signi¢cance levels: *P = 0.05, **P = 0.001.
FEMSEC 1433 12-11-02
Cyaan Magenta Geel Zwart
n = 25
HFLAG Clr
30.138
0.248
0.028
0.065
0.001
30.84
0.428*
30.039
0.414
Y. Bettarel et al. / FEMS Microbiology Ecology 42 (2002) 451^462
459
Fig. 3. Temporal changes in estimated values of heterotrophic bacterial cell production based on 3 H-leucine incorporation rates, and bacterial mortality
from £agellate grazing based on FLB uptake rates, and viral lysis based on frequencies of visibly infected bacteria.
changes in nutritional status [42,60]. The possession of a
minimum number of ribosomes may be a poor predictor
of instantaneous activity. In addition, detectability of ribosomes can vary with other factors, ranging from rRNA
architecture to membrane permeability [61]. Thus, we cannot exclude, for example, the possibility of a coincidental
correlation of DOC and a midday increase in membrane
permeability of bacteria, perhaps UV-mediated [62]. Overall, the eubacteria probe data, while showing that the resolution of genetic probes may vary with the time of day,
are di⁄cult to interpret. It should be noted that other
studies, in which leucine incorporation and eubacteria
probe detection rates were examined in di¡erent locations,
found no relationship [63].
The oscillations in viral numbers did not appear to re£ect light-mediated viral destruction, as maximum virus
abundance appeared at midday. Again, it is tempting to
ascribe a direct relationship between correlated parameters, in this case virus and Synechococcus abundance.
Our rough calculations of the production of viruses not
due to lysis of heterotrophic bacteria, combined with estimates of the mortality of Synechococcus not due to
HFLAG grazing, suggest that the magnitude of virus concentration oscillations could be due to phage production
through Synechococcus mortality. The burst size required
would be about 130 phages per Synechococcus cell, which
is within the range of reported values [64].
In natural systems, no diel patterns of viral abundance
have been found [32^34]. On the other hand, very similar
patterns to that presented here of circadian variability in
viral numbers have been reported from mesocosm experiments among bacteriophages [65], as well as among viruses
thought to infect Emiliana huxleyi [66]. However, two cautionary notes must be added. Firstly, the oscillations necessitate a synchronized production of viruses with lysis
rates increasing as Synechococcus cells begin to divide
(see Figs. 1 and 2) and we can provide no explanation
as to why this should occur. Secondly, the few reports
addressing virus-induced mortality of Synechococcus provide little evidence that viral lysis is the dominant source
Table 3
Results of correlation analysis used to test for correspondence between temporal changes in estimated variables
[Bact]
[Syn]
Syn FDC
[DOC]
[Virus]
[HFLAG]
Leu cell31
% Eubact+
FVIC
n = 25
[Syn]
n = 25
Syn FDC
n = 25
[DOC]
n = 25
[Virus]
n = 25
[HFLAG]
n = 25
Leu cell31
n = 15
% Eubact+
n = 17
FVIC
n = 25
HFLAG Clr
0.154
30.365
30.477*
30.177
0.362
30.313
0.175
30.420*
30.056
0.060
30.282
0.345
30.229
0.110
30.435*
30.576**
0.065
0.197
0.111
30.155
0.023
0.205
0.210
30.698**
0.555*
0.154
0.001
30.207
30.203
0.488*
0.024
0.161
30.156
30.078
0.588*
0.153
30.278
0.268
0.121
0.118
30.042
0.092
0.546**
30.041
0.498*
All estimates were expressed as percentages of the appropriate 24 h average and then transformed for normalization. For an explanation of abbreviations see Table 1. Asterisks denote signi¢cance levels: *P = 0.05, **P = 0.001.
FEMSEC 1433 12-11-02
Cyaan Magenta Geel Zwart
460
Y. Bettarel et al. / FEMS Microbiology Ecology 42 (2002) 451^462
of mortality [64]. For example, strain-speci¢c phages were
enumerated in the Woods Hole area and the conclusion
reached that viruses were a minor source of Synechococcus
mortality [67]. Hence, our tentative presentation of a
strong link between viruses and Synechococcus requires
con¢rmation through either virus production studies or a
determination of infection rates.
We found some evidence of a link between the activities
of grazers and producers in the form of leucine incorporation and HFLAG grazing rates. Clearance rates of £agellates covaried with cell-speci¢c bacterial production (Fig.
2, Tables 2 and 3). Clearance rates of HFLAG vary with
bacterial prey size [68^70], which most likely varies with
leucine incorporation. However, we estimated clearance
rates based on the ingestion of FLB of constant size.
The absolute magnitude of HFLAG clearance rates may
be higher, if the bacterial grazers discriminated against
FLB. Indeed, one possible explanation of the covariance
of leucine incorporation and ingestion of FLB is that selectivity of grazers shifted with bacterial activity because
prey quality varied with activity. Thus, variability in clearance rates may not represent shifts in rates of water £ow
but rather shifts in selectivity. Changes in selectivity with
shifts in preferred prey abundance (in absolute or relative
terms) have been documented [71,72].
Given the uncertainties involved in extrapolating FLB
ingestion to the ingestion of natural living bacteria and the
assumptions involved in estimating bacterial mortality
from FVIC data, we could only hope to establish temporal
trends and approximate magnitudes of bacterial mortality.
Hence, it was remarkable to ¢nd that our estimates of
bacterial mortality (total community grazing by HFLAG
plus mortality attributable to viral lysis) were comparable
in magnitude to bacterial production (Fig. 3). On the other hand, we found little evidence of a tight link, on the
scale of hours, between bacterial mortality and production. HFLAG grazing, according to our estimates, dominated bacterial mortality ^ a common ¢nding [73]. Temporal trends in aggregate grazing impact loosely followed
aggregate bacterial production, in a similar manner to the
relationship between HFLAG clearance rates and bacterial cell-speci¢c leucine incorporation rates. Viral mortality
appeared to be more variable than production or £agellate-induced mortality and was independent of bacterial
production. It is worthwhile recalling that viral mortality
is calculated ¢rst from FVIC data which yield mortality in
the form of a percentage per generation and is then multiplied by the cell production rate to obtain a rate in terms
of cells per hour. The viral mortality rate then re£ects
variability in infection rates as well as production rates.
Overall, based on intensive sampling over an extended
period, we discovered sparse evidence to support the links
commonly presented in schematic diagrams (for example,
between DOC and bacteria and HFLAG ; viruses and
bacteria) as being ‘tight’, at least in terms of displaying
similar temporal variations. In contrast, we found intrigu-
FEMSEC 1433 12-11-02
ing relationships between the autotrophic prokaryote Synechococcus and viruses rather than with viruses and light.
We discovered that oligonucleotide probe sensitivity may
vary with the time of day. Thus, we found weak links
between DOC concentration, or grazing, and bacterial activity, a possibly strong link between Synechococcus and
viruses, and a missing link between light and viruses.
Acknowledgements
The research reported here was ¢nancially supported by
the CNRS and the Conseil Re¤gional des Alpes Maritimes
as PICS Project 1111 ’Coope¤ration Franco^Tche'que sur la
re¤gulation des populations picoplanctoniques’. We gratefully acknowledge advice, encouragement and criticism
provided by F. Azam, E. and B. Sherr, D. Vaulot, and
M. G. Weinbauer.
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